Even if you are a new SL blogger, a new SL fashion blogger or even new to SL on all fronts, you presumably have a real life with real experiences, likes and dislikes and all that goes along with life.

Long ago and far away in blogger time (a bit over 2 years ago if I recall correctly), I made the "mistake" of negatively reporting on a hunt. Very few of you will remember that, but I do. In retrospect, the hunt was mostly not to my taste. But in my defense, at least one of the prizes had floating text advertising the store on a NO MOD "doll" (supremely tacky), another had seams that didn't come close to matching -- you get the idea. All in all it was not a great hunt.

I was new and I was both attacked and stood up for (thank you Gogo and a few other souls). Back then, you never said anything negative about give away items. The general consensus was that the designers would get mad and never give away items again. Well, obviously, that wasn't true *wink*.

Edited out a paragraph here as earlier information appears to be incorrect :D. Oh well.

My point of the evening is that those of you that are new, may indeed have things to learn. That doesn't mean you opinions are any less relevant than those of the oldtimers. You may not get a lot of review items at the moment. You may have to hunt and scrape and scratch for things to blog. I am guessing that we all did at one time. So, keep working at it. Try and find your niche, your style, your voice.

Above all, do what pleases you -- in your own way -- and NEVER let anyone tell you that you don't matter.

Don't forget there is a Launch Party for Too Sexy magazine going on. Benicia came by after a time at the wildness. There are some LOVELY gifts including an ohsocute purse with Too Sexy Mag (well, of course) and some sexy shoes. Both are from YS&YS, Since her new accessories were the correct color -- if not style -- for her pajamas (dress code for the party and supplied by Zenith as a group gift some time ago), I got this cute photo in the Diesel Works PolyWall. And Benicia is SO smart, she found additional colors that I had missed in the menu. That works.

This silky set is a gift from Seldom Blue. There are some satiny purple boxers for the guys.

So stop on by and join in the fun. It must be wild over there as I see LOTS of green dots on the map. There is an alternate location with fewer folks HERE, if you aren't into crowds.

You can pick up a magazine kiosk for your shop if you like while you are visiting.

I was reading SL Secrets this morning. I seldom know the stories behind the words, but some are clever and some have interesting typography. One of the "secrets" this week mentioned bloggers not blogging the same thing over and over again. This has been mentioned often in other blogs (even often by me over the years) and I doubt the trend will change.

But here's a correlated thought. What about the designers that send out review copies to so many folks that the feeds get filled with that item? It is one thing if bloggers choose to show the same group gift that went out to thousands of folks. It is another if they were given something so fantastic that they feel the need to feature the item. Sure, they may know that ten other folks have shown it during the last week. But if the review copy was impressive (and often expensive) and if they LIKE the designer, they may feel compelled to post anyway.

Some designers send out different samples to various bloggers -- or at least stagger and mix up the review copies so that the same things aren't shown a dozen times in one week. This is a VERY GOOD plan.

Let's not totally blame the bloggers for showing the same things. Sometimes? Sure. Hair fair is a prime example (yawn). But sometimes they are merely trying not to ignore a lovely gift from a nice person. Designers, you can help us out by sprinkling your goodies around and about and not sending them all out at one time. Send a few. See who features you. Send others (different colors, styles, items) to another group if you will. It is a bit more work, but readers will most likely pay more attention to your items when they haven't just seen them the page before on the feeds :D.

And, as I have said before -- if you have to show off something that everyone else has blogged because you love it too? Show us your STYLE, not just the item out of the box on a white background.

A gazillion hunts are happening in February, most of them love (or hate) themed. I am pretty busy these days, most likely too busy to do many of them. I will definitely be watching other blogs for good looking items to search for though. With so many February hunts to choose from, it seemed like a good idea to check out some of my favorite hunt stops from other times. At the top of my list was Julia's. The official title is Julia's Collection Unique Furniture. It is a Victorian - Steam shop with some of my favorite themed furniture.

I found three hunt signs as well as a GIANT black cat (Greenie I think) on my arrival. And yes, Julia's will be in a February hunt. But the big, Big, BIG news is that there is a Steam Hunt 2 coming in March. Woot! Woot! Woot!

Since I was at Julia's I took a quick trip upstairs to photography the intricately detailed kitchen that I spied in December. I had plans to go back for a photo shoot, but that didn't happen. So, here you go. I love it! I have no place for it at the moment. My shops are doing very well but I am in studio only mode. Still, I have my super cute house from the last Steam Hunt and who knows what I will find this time out. Eventually I will get it all together. The time will be right and serendipity will come into play. A slot will appear in a steam community -- it will be so. Until then, storage is practical in our virtual world.

OK, you may not be a Victorian, Steam, Tesla fan, but I am; the first Steam Hunt was definitely one of my most fun times. It doesn't start until March, and even though I have many events on my calendar at the moment, I will be counting the days. A second hunt that I am very interested in personally is the Builder's Hunt which also starts at the beginning of March. Its official title is the Building Blocks Gridwide Hunt.

Since I was now dressed in steampunk gear (sorry, no longer available), I zipped over to Builder's Brewery who was in the last Steam Hunt and who also might be (keeping fingers crossed) in the Building Blocks Hunt. I didn't find any signs, but since the hunts don't start for a month, I'll keep hoping. What I did find was a poster for somthing happening in FEBRUARY!

Frank Lloyd Wright USONIAN Buildoff

" USONIAN IDEALS Build-Off "

The Frank Lloyd Wright Museum of Second Life is holding a FLW inspired Build-Off! It’s a fun competition to see who can create the most functional and appealing building within the parameters of the USONIAN ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright. The building event will take place from Friday, Feb. 5, 6:30 SLT to Sunday, Feb 7, 6 PM SLT, on a special ‘build-off’ sim.

Your magic carpet ride to the build-off sim will await you at the Breeze.

To ENTER:
* Deadline for entry is Feb 3 at 6pm SLT. Builders are accepted on a first come bases until all slots are filled, so apply early to insure that you get into the competition.

* Drop a notecard with your full SL name (check spelling twice) and whether you are a Pro or Novice contender (see the criteria, below) to FrankLloyd Zepp <

* A 500L donation for registration goes directly to the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum of SL, paid to FrankLloyd Zepp.

* Upon registering, you will receive a note acknowledging your entry and donation (thank you) and again the specifics in regards to the FLWM of SL Build-Off.

New at [Baubles] Boho Jewelry, Hole in the Moon earring sets in three colors. Each set includes plain and stars (actually diamonds) versions. The sets sell for $35 each (two styles included) and there is a fatpack of all three colors for $90.

Great for many casual outfits, they come in onyx, warm burl wood and dark cool walnut. The metal color is silver. They include shine but no bling or brightness :D.

Mod - Copy - No Transfer. They coordinate with the Everyday wood bangles.

There is something very rewarding for me in the photographer's journey. It may be finding beautiful and interesting spots to share, it may be adjusting the light to fit the mood of my theme. Whatever the draw, I do like having my camera with me. When I made it a month or so ago, I planned to make some poses. Props are fairly useless without the right turns and twists of our bodies to show them off.

I've spent the last two days working on a pose pack. It was fun. I worked hard. I am very happy with the results. I had a few aims in mind when I began the process. First, I wanted poses that worked for me, that mirrored the experiences I have had in the real world. Finding the shots, getting the angles, and even simply resting after a long and fun day of photography. I also wanted poses that would work not only for me, but for the folks that had purchased my camera -- or actually ANY camera. Sharing is good. I also noted that some of the fellows that bought my camera were thrilled there were poses that worked for them. So another check box on my list was poses that were unisex for the most part.

Since all of us that take photos for our blogs know how problematic those odd body twists in poses can be -- you know the ones that have shoulder blades popping up where they never really could or hands pretty much cut in half at the wrist -- I definitely didn't want those included in my poses. So, I've been living in a bra top, tight pants and tall boots for most of the last two days as I tried out poses. I also had them tested by two friends, one 5 foot 3 and one at 6 foot 5. With all that, I hope that they work for almost everyone. A couple might need to be in pose balls as I chose to have taller folks float a bit rather than have tiny Xia be buried in the ground if she turned on a ground pose *wink*.

That's my creative journey.

My locale for this post is The Lost World in Beguile. I saw a photo essay on the feed the other night that looked quite lovely. It seemed like a good spot to try out my new poses. It is an interesting place with some pros and cons. Pro? NO autoreturn. Woot! Be neat of course, but you don't have to worry about objects going back into inventory unexpectedly. The bad? The lag was awful, truly awful. At one point the ground was shaking and the ruins moving like an earthquake. Considering the name of the spot, that may be planned and not SL just being persnickety. A fellow traveler caught up with me at the end of my shoot for a chat. I could barely type to her. Another day might be better, so I'll keep it on my list.

Single poses as well as a pose fatpack are available at Photographique. Be sure and try the poses out before purchasing and if you already have my camera, the poses that come with the camera are in the single vendor also. I have named them "comeswithcamera ..." so that is a pretty big hint, but don't buy them as you already have those three :D.

If it is Tuesday -- and February -- and Bourbon Street; it must be Mardi Gras! Well it will be. You still have a bit of time to collect tons -- and I do mean TONS of great Mardi Gras accessories and clothes from deviousMind: (*chanimations (adult sim). Beads and masks, top hat and cane, a corset set, pasties -- and a TAIL. I love the tail. It must be the show off in me *wink*. Not all the prizes are out yet, so this is a sneak peak at what you will find in the lucky bondage cross (yep, ya gotta love it). Hop on when your lucky letter comes up and you could win some great items. Edit: See from the comments that there are actually FIVE lucky chairs (that don't look like chairs) around the area to check. So getting LOTS of the parts to play with will be easier than I thought. See ya at Mardi Gras.

I could have tried to show you ALL the goodies that will be appearing, but where's the fun in that? Just check in every day or two and be happily surprised. The new items are being added a bit at a time. You can wear the accessories with many of the outfits on the wall -- including some new ones just being released and have a superb, if scanty, Mardi Gras outfit.

There are actually two lucky "chairs" to watch. The other one is HERE by the elephants and circus tent. If you are practiced cammer, you can watch both at the same time. Ah, we are SO tricky. TP your friends in and get outfits for the celebration and parades here at Fat Tuesday. Pick up a notecard from any of the tri colored street signs and see how you can participate.

OOPS! The signs that are still at this sim are from 2009. I guess it never dawned on me (at 3 AM my time) that year old signs about events would still be up and VERY prominent all over the town -- or perhaps I got the only one that didn't get changed out *wink*. The owner wrote and alerted me. So don't plan on this happening.

From the sim owner:

"Mardis Gras this year will donate to the Haiti Relief Fund
and will run across the 13th, 14th and 16th of Feb."

Here is the most up to date info that I have:

Fat Tuesday, the finest reproduction of New Orleans is having Mardis Gras February 13, 14, and 16, 2010. We invite interested groups to enter a float in the parade. We invite individuals or groups to walk in the parade, or ride their horse, unicycles or almost anything. BATON TWIRLERS wanted. Batons and costumes provided free Prize money to be won for best 3 in 2 categories. Please send a note card to Emerson Vhargon, with MG + group or individual name in title for more information and details Live performers and DJ on Sat. Masquerade ball on Sunday. Live performers on Fat Tuesday Parades al three days Volunteers also needed Thank you for your interest.

Contact Emerson Vhargon for more info.

Here are the bullet points:

February 21- 24th, 2009 Charitable event benefiting the musicians of New Orleans! MARDI GRAS!! Fat Tuesday, Second Life's most realistic New Orleans French Quarter, will be home to the best Mardi Gras celebration in SL. We are planning four days of festivities with parades running every 4 hours from 6am to 10pm SLT on Saturday Feb 21 & 6am to 6pm Sunday Feb 22nd, followed by a Masquerade Ball .

There will be music and dancing in the street all 4 days and the proceeds go to support New Orleans Habitat for Humanity, Musician's Village.

A very good day for me with lots accomplished on the camera poses as well as many smiles. I have a couple of fun posts in the works. More on that tomorrow.

MEANWHILE and with no names mentioned, here is the question. "Is it a good idea to offer the very same designs for several hundreds of dollars just a day or two after you gave them away to hundreds (or perhaps more) folks?"

I'm having a bit of a quandary with the concept. Sure, the people that buy the "new release" items presumably missed out on the freebies, but wouldn't it be more fair (and a better business practice) to offer a recolor of a prerelease item for free and then sell a basic color as the new item? It takes so little time to do that extra work and if people like the blue or pink version, they might purchase the black or brown or ecru style.

I would not feel good about charging big bucks for the exact same thing I previously gave away. A year later? Sure. Not an issue.

If you peruse the feeds, you may have seen mention of a German RP complex patterned after the movie Avatar. The place looked interesting, so I got out my handy dandy translator and attempted to follow the non-English breadcrumbs to the FREE avatar outfits (ones for guys too). It was an interesting journey, but since I don't speak German and it costs 250 linden to join so that you can TP to the RP areas, I will make this a quick explanatory post. I am supposed to be working on new camera poses today. I keep getting sidetracked. Such is life in SL(R).

This pretty skin along with the warpaint (undies layers) and Atokirina (I am wearing two from two different vendors) are free in the shopping area. As you might imagine, there are many skins to choose from when buying.

Navigation is a bit problematic at the sim, purposefully so I am guessing. Here is where you are heading. You can't get there directly; you will end up at the main entrance. From there, walk into the welcoming area and to the right where there is a click through TP board. Choose number 1 of 4 and TP to the shopping area. Then follow the beam from your original TP. The coordinates are 220, 100, 700. This free skin is for Pandora Magic group members only. I joined and will stick around awhile to see if there are any English notices. The information boards did say it was an international community. I would like to at least get to the RP areas. So we'll see. The warpaint and lots of other extras are in a freebie box at the Mint Condition booth. Wander a bit as there are lots of booths, demo skins and shapes etc. I kept my own shape, but shapes were included in both free packs. I should mention that you have a choice to be HUMAN. That I am guessing is not the draw here :D.

Style notes:

Hair: House of Heart (NLA)

Skin tail, ears: Elfenground* Pandora* FREEBI, tattoos and one of the Atokirina from Mint Condition.

Outfit: hO wEAr thong and nipple covers from different outfits.

And, since I was there this morning, I'll let you know that Dawn Designs has a large collection of Avatar wear and a nice skin in the new shop. hO wEAr also has some outfits; I saw them posted a week or so ago.

Get out your prettiest, sexiest -- or in my case most comfy -- jammies. It's a sleepover! Well maybe not a SLEEPover :D.

TOO SEXY Magazine launches it’s first edition this Monday, February 1st. This first edition features all that is sexy for Valentine’s Day – lingerie, places to go in SL to celebrate with your loved one and how to some of SL’s best known couples celebrate this special day.

Finally, I made it out into the world -- and what a world I found. It was a morning when the pieces fell into place and unexpected discoveries made everything right with the universe.

Freedom. Many of us crave it. Some of us have it. Solitude. The quiet magic of nature. The caravan encampment is made by Grey Kurka of The Curious Prim and The Manor House. It is at home in the serene snowscape.

My outfit is a fitting one for this place. It is Selene Medieval Rogue by ~LACES&STEEL~ (review copy). I added this month's FREE boots from sf design. Both guys and gals versions are available as well as a folded over top version. Get them before month's end.

Hey fashionistas and bloggers. I am seeing some DARK photos on the feeds. While I don't wear a facelight for everyday, they are definitely important for photographs in dim lighting. If we can't see any contrast, we don't know what you are wearing or how PRETTY you are *wink*. So ----

Come pick up a free facelight with HUD at PhotoGraphique. I didn't make it, just passing it along. It has tons of options like brightness and radius. You can read how it works in an old post HERE. Enjoy.

While some things in our virtual world -- like content creation skills -- are improving daily, other things are not. This is a short post to alert other content creators that things may be amiss in your shops. In the last two days I have had various problems in various sims with database rollback issues and things even more bizarre. Since we don't know there is a problem until someone reports it or until we find out by accident, we can easily be selling faulty merchandise or in some cases not being able to sell items at all.

Two nights ago scripts that I had made were working, but no other scripts -- such as my BAX boots, hair with resize etc. Yesterday someone wrote to let me know my Music for the Soul headphones were no longer buyable. And this morning I found landscape photos appearing in the FLOOR of the photo studio I have for sale. I have tiny shops with not much inventory. I can't imagine what could have gone wrong if I had more.

I know things like this have happened in the past, but not so much lately so it took me a bit off guard. I have fixed all the issues that have been reported or that I have found. If any of you that purchased a photo studio have found landscape photos currently sppearing in the floor, please contact me. If you don't know how to fix it, I'll send you a "working at the moment" copy :D.

Or don't :D. I am having way too much fun in the studio today. I logged in this evening to find a PolyWall from Diesel Works. How cool is that? Hence I have been playing into the late eve and will be sleeping in (hopefully) tomorrow. I also pledge to get outside for some fresh air! Yes, I do.

Meanwhile I love the cube. Lots of drama, some great poses and a large variety of textures. I liked the neutral cement and wood ones the best, but this was definitely the correct choice for my outfit of the eve.

At only two prims, it is a great addition to even modest studios. I had seen photos on the web using the cube, but I had no idea of the color varieties included. So, I am smarter now. Happily so. You can even use the cube with your own favorite single poses, poseballs, pillows, whatever. So many possibilities. What I like the most is the shading effects. It adds such depth to an otherwise, often fairly boring, studio shot.

That doesn't mean I will give up my exploring. I have a long list of places to visit and photograph. But it does mean that I have some new choices. And I love choices. The PolyWall also comes in a photographer's version with seat and stand like the chaise I featured earlier today.

Style notes:

By now you know about my hair and skin. My boots are the 2010 white BAX boots in off-white. My Lucina Glitter leggings are from [ILAYA]. The top in the second photo is also from ILAYA, but alas has some seam issues that I noticed after I took the photo. My pasties are from deviousMind -- part of the "MmeChatouille" set. My cotton tank is from Fri.day.

And the star of the show is the necklace I am wearing from LacieCakes. It is actually THREE necklaces so you have mix and match options. Best of all, it is FREE in a dice hunt. Find it in the middle of the shop, not hidden at all and buy for $0. This is a kid's hunt, but this gift has items for both ladies and kids in the prize pack. I didn't have to adjust these at all exept to raise them up to my neck :D. Thanks to sl-schnaeppchen for the heads up on this. So fine!

I am having a difficult time getting out of the studio today, but that ain't all bad. In fact, it has been lots of fun.

Diesel Works has released new colors of the Debutant Chaise (review copy). This is the Pearl color. Oh so neutral, and you know how I like neutral. I got Xia up to my studio and we had lots of fun playing with the photographer's version. The poses fit her perfectly, tiny as she is, so no adjustments were needed. I had wondered about the director version of the chaise and I have to say it makes me smile. When the model moves into a new pose, the person in charge (that's me in this case) waves their hand around and then does a "stop right there" signal. Fun.

This is the view from the other direction showing the hand signal. A great prop for any serious photographer, the other new colors include cream and pretty pink. The new colors come in both director and regular versions (just the chaise as I have shown you before).

If you get over to the store, be sure and check out the PolyWall with lots of poses and texture options. DRAMA! Woot! Perfect for bloggers and photographers alike. There are also some new couples pillows if you have a significant other.

Thank you Whisper! Running late today, I finally got to check the feeds and found a post on iheartsl about the Def Luv fashion show. Here is the original post in case you missed it. It included a hair that I saw earlier in the week and LOVED! So of course I took my chances and TPed over at 11 SL time to see if the hair was still out. I would have liked to have seen the show, but not at 5 am *wink*.

Not only is the great and dramatic hair from W&Y still out, I found a lovely and intricate necklace from fairy tail, and some silver leggings and bra top from House of Fox. There were other gifts that I didn't pick up but that you might love. Be sure and wear your flight aid as I fell through the floor twice. Not sure what is up with that :D.

While I am posting studio photos, I'll add this one I took last night.This cute dress (I'd call it a top) is the .:Relentless Couture:.Splatter Mini Dress. It was still on the Midnight board last eve or you can purchase it off the wall on the second floor. Lots of fun whether you wear it with or without leggings. And if you are looking for a small shop prefab, find the snowman (not too far from the entrance when I was there last night) and pick up a nice building.

Long ago and far away in RL times, I had a friend (actually she was my boss) who had a beautiful amber necklace. It was an antique that she wore often. I couldn't purchase a copy in the real world, but I CAN make a virtual one. And so I did! Frozen in Amber comes in a double set (above) as well as a short single choker.

Both necklaces feature built in shine with amber beads as well as other natural earthstones. The short necklace is designed in a symmetrical manner, while the longer version has a scattered, casual pattern. It took me a long while to make this set and I love it. I hope you do too.

The necklace set is manual mod - copy - no transfer and sells for $75. Find it at [Baubles]

There are some truly great gifts / prizes out at Satoko Instruments. I spent quite awhile over there with some very friendly folks today. There are two lovely violins to find in a hunt. This is one. The other is pink with roses. It took me awhile to find them as the store and surroundings are fairly large. They ARE out in the open, however; no sneaky hiding or anything. Just me not being the best hunter.

Update: It is 5 AM SL time and the hunt vendors are still out there! Yeah! Also a crowd at the lucky chairs.

They come with a hud that takes a bit of trial and error to work out. Then all is well. There are also instructions in a notecard on how to upload and install your own music. The violin comes with a piano hud keyboard that I am still not too sure about. Some of you may be a bit more clever than I-used-to-be-techie me.

When you wear the violin, it attaches to your back. There are two sizes (male and female) and I, being a somewhat tall gal used the guy version. The straps didn't work well for me so I just scooted them into my body. I didn't check to see if they were modify, but that could be an option. When you click on the case it opens and then you can tap on the violin to attach it to your shoulder. A few editing skills are needed -- or at least were important in my case -- so that you look like you are actually playing. But if you are used to adjusting other prim accessories it should be no problem

The violins are on the wall and sell for $800 linden each, so a bit of hunting is definitely worth your while.

There is also a GREAT harmonica in the lucky chair (actually what I went over to try for) as well as an organ. I didn't win the organ but Benicia did and she owes me since I TPed her over. So another day I will give you the info on those fun products. Meanwhile I decided I better post this so that I wouldn't be wearing the same outfit through Monday *wink*.

The hair in these photos is from Alli and Ali (I'm leaving out the "and" sign as Blogger SO doesn't like that). It is called Stevie and you can get a blond version by the voting board in the shop, a brown version as a group gift, and THIS color for a linden on Xstreet. It is lovely and soft and flows very nicely. The hair is flat enough on top to be perfect for hats. So -- I added one of course with nice coordinating teal accents. We always need hair for hats!

Thanks to Schnaeppchen's blog for the heads up on the musical instruments. Hurry, as you have until the 24th. See the official site for more info. Since the hunt time is on the Japanese hour, it may already be over. It is a little vague on the time. There is no mention of taking the great prizes out of the lucky chairs, though, so stop on over and see what you can find. The harmonica is WAY cool.

Will every gal at Phil's Place have these boots by midnight? Most likely not, but YOU should. These are fantastic, almost free ($50 Friday) and the money goes to Haiti. I normally wouldn't be posting about them since I am guessing everyone else will be also, but two of the feeds are down so getting the word out is a bit of a problem. I am on the MIEL SOM list (those GREAT snowshoes!) and happily so. While I didn't agree with many of the Vain readers listings, I did agree (and voted for) a few of the winners. MIEL is indeed a great new shop.

I was set to TP over to The Mother Road to take these shots. Alas, it seems to be gone. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it is just a temporary closing and not another sign of a great place disappearing. At least I have my photograph backdrop to rely on. This photo reminds me to let you know that PhotoGraphique has relocated. So the cameras and photo studio et al can be found in a small open air shop at the beach. Also I read that Tiny Bird has a big sale going on. It is texture redoing time and some styles will be retired. So if you are a fan, check that out. This is Kissy, one of my favorites.

A last bit of news you may have missed is that BAX has updated both of the original Prestigue boots. Black styles now come in dark and shiny versions. Woot! White now includes choices for off white and a light pink. If you own either of these styles, zip on over to the store and find the update machine. Look for two green circles on a black stand. Put on your boots, touch one of the "ready" circles and get the updated version. I was so impressed!

There are often too many goodbyes in life. Today I am saying goodbye to Beach Cay. It has been a wonderful adventure here in the tropics. I have enjoyed my time immensely. This is my last moonlight photo shoot amidst the crashing waves -- a fitting setting for this new dramatic skin from!Skin Within named Droe Exotica. The skin premiered at the "Rezzable: The Future is Now" event that kicked of on Sunday and will continue for 3 weeks.

The cool blue body of the skin is fairly monotone. Shiny blue nails form a nice accent and there are built in pasties -- or perhaps cyber nipples -- which I appreciated. I often lose things in my inventory. Some gifts, prizes and even purchases I use often; others I keep because they are lovely and I may need them again. Last night as I was working on an outfit for Droe I found this lovely swimsuit from {CIPRIA COUTURE}. I have no idea how or when it found its way into my closet, but it was perfect!

The oranges and blues echo the colors of the dramatic makeup. The Lilith Copper Champagne earrings were made by Lilith Moriarty. Since there is no store listed in her profile, I am guessing these are from long ago also. Even I hold onto lovely things.

This skin was a review copy.

Hair by !!Calico Ingmann Creations!!

Poses by LAP.

This is the second !Skin Within release from The Future is Now. It didn't work as well for me as the blue skin, but it might be perfect for YOU!

That is the wonderful thing about life. We can celebrate our individuality in so many ways.

For anyone interested in a lovely quarter homestead sim, I'll be leaving Friday afternoon SL time. The estate owner is Chaos Ametza of Omega Group Properties (tier office is here). The sim always runs well with three reboots each week and Chaos is easily the best landlord I have had in SL. The tier is $1999 a week. The rocks, waves and one of a kind cliffs -- gifts of previous owners -- are all staying, along with some starfish and palms. I would be happy to leave my shop to anyone that would like to use it. Just contact me before Friday noon and you can buy the land for a linden.

Baubles and PhotoGraphique are both moving to the mainland for a bit. It was so much fun having some of my favorite things out for use for awhile, but I really don't need all this space. Memories are good, though, so I'll be taking more photos today for my Flickr account. It is always nice to have a record of where we have been.

There's a new shop in town. It opens officially on Saturday, January 23rd with freebies and jazz. Homespun is inspired by the Depression Era and the decade following, It features products and a shopping environment that reflects the simplicity and utilitarian qualities of the 1930s and 40s eras.

I don't often feature items these days that aren't my personal style. But I was impressed with the vision of the project as well as the execution of the designs. And, I have to admit, Posy Trudeau won me over with a giant cherry pie and the suitcase in the first photo. I can't remember a more inventive blogger review pack. The outfits came in the super cute suitcase. Touch to open; it was filled with the clothing items -- not in boxes mind you, but in replicas of the the items. So the socks were a tiny blue wad of fabric, the jeans neatly folded jeans -- and the list went on.

The first photo is an outfit for the guys, but you know me -- I'm a tomboy at heart. I added a vintage vest from Concrete Flowers and I look pretty dapper methinks. All the other clothing items are from Homespun, even the shoes.

The Depression years were hard on the United States. I remember stories of my female relatives traveling across country, heading for the promised land of California. All three (great-grandmother, grandmother and my mother) slept in the car. I think it was a big DeSoto. It must have been black as almost all automobiles where back then. They sold homemade cockroach powder door to door to make money to continue onward. The poison came in tins, not boxes and had my great grandmother's photo on the lid.

I doubt any of us in SL lived through those times, but many of us have heard stories. They were difficult years, but not necessarily bad ones. Homespun endeavors to remind us that simple pleasures are often the best.

There are so many times that I just want a plain bangle. Nothing fancy really -- polished woods suit me fine. So with that in mind, I made a set of simple bangles called Everyday Wood Bangles. They come in ironwood, blonde, walnut and burl. Two coordinating styles feature metal and stones. The complete set of six styles, both left and right attachment points is $30. They are mod - copy and contain a resize script, so you can make them your own. Find them at the NEW Baubles store.

The bangles are also available in four sets. The plain bangles come two to a set ($10) and the trimmed bangles are available as singles, also $10.

Not every gal wants shiny expensive gemstones, some of us are very happy with Wooden Diamonds. These new earrings are available in colors to match the Everyday Wood Bangles. These eye-catching casuals sell for $25 each color or $75 for the fatpack of four.

The earrings are sculpty and have silver detailing to accent the fine woods. They are pierced with posts and backings. Click the photo for as slightly larger view.

I'll be leaving my current home / studio / shop at the end of the week so be sure you go to the new Baubles store. I am not adding new releases to the stock at Beach Cay.